Or we are pleasantly surprised to discover that its decorative motif – a simple leaf – is not arranged centrally, like, say, the setting of a stone, but radially, that is to say, in the direction of the ring’s movement around the finger. Moreover, this wonderful piece also has a secret, a sensible one, too, and one known only to its wearer, for if the latter raises her ringed finger to eye level and glances across it, she will notice that her ring does not come full circle, as it were, but forms a gap, its plain, invisible end freely tapering to a point underneath the leaf motif. This feature testifies to the logical consistency with which the ring has been designed: its value is intrinsic and needs no justification in practical terms – the material is strong enough anyway, whether the ring is closed or not.
Such clarity of thought is also the distinguishing feature of another ring, its essentially plain form having been severed by an elegant, S-shaped gap. How much more thought-inspiring is this graceful line than any self-satisfied stone! Or perhaps we are slightly irritated by it because of its severing effect? The point is that we are free to react entirely according to our own preference or mood.
Christa Lühtje has been making the same high demands on herself ever since she began her career, on the one hand through her dedication to the strict exactitude of geometrical forms; on the other through her overriding preference for gold. The mild, flattering sheen of silver is not for her. No, for Christa Lühtje it must be the bright, imperious gleam of gold. How powerful gold must be, we say to ourselves, instinctively remembering that gold can even make the world its slave. And how ideally it combines with meticulously cut rock crystal, we say to ourselves, as we marvel at a necklace of regal magnificence. Even on display, this necklace is a thing of beauty in its own right, but then we immediately think of its purpose and look around for the neck which, for its sake, may willingly loose its head. Ultimate bliss, but not without a slight shiver of fear. What immensurability must lie in smallness, what greatness must lie in the sheer simplicity of these cruciform elements. Indeed, it is simplicity that counts and there are no roundabout ways of achieving it.
Such clarity of thought is also the distinguishing feature of another ring, its essentially plain form having been severed by an elegant, S-shaped gap. How much more thought-inspiring is this graceful line than any self-satisfied stone! Or perhaps we are slightly irritated by it because of its severing effect? The point is that we are free to react entirely according to our own preference or mood.
Christa Lühtje has been making the same high demands on herself ever since she began her career, on the one hand through her dedication to the strict exactitude of geometrical forms; on the other through her overriding preference for gold. The mild, flattering sheen of silver is not for her. No, for Christa Lühtje it must be the bright, imperious gleam of gold. How powerful gold must be, we say to ourselves, instinctively remembering that gold can even make the world its slave. And how ideally it combines with meticulously cut rock crystal, we say to ourselves, as we marvel at a necklace of regal magnificence. Even on display, this necklace is a thing of beauty in its own right, but then we immediately think of its purpose and look around for the neck which, for its sake, may willingly loose its head. Ultimate bliss, but not without a slight shiver of fear. What immensurability must lie in smallness, what greatness must lie in the sheer simplicity of these cruciform elements. Indeed, it is simplicity that counts and there are no roundabout ways of achieving it.
Klaus Jürgen Sembach
